Michael Steele on Crime

Republican challenger, Lt. Gov.

More focus on victims of violent crime

Protect Victims of Violent Crime:

Congress should fully-fund the Justice for All Act to help remove the DNA backlog and provide complete justice for rape victims, greatly expanding the ability for state and federal law enforcement officials to
track down and prosecute violent criminals.

Protect funding for the Victims of Crime Act, which Pres. Bush has proposed moving to a general fund, so criminal fines and penalties will continue to support victim assistance and prevention programs.

Combat the proliferation of gangs

Michael is committed to fighting poverty, drug addiction and criminal recidivism. He is devoted to securing Maryland neighborhoods and building safer streets by fighting crime.

Michael worked to combat the proliferation of gangs threatening the
well-being of Maryland communities and the safety of Maryland children. Michael led the way in convening a Statewide Planning Group to develop a strategy to both prevent and respond to gang activity.

Personally opposed to the death penalty

Steele is personally opposed to the death penalty, but he has not publicly expressed his opinion on two executions [in Maryland]. Nor, he said, did he privately try to dissuade Gov. Ehrlich from signing the execution orders. He did, however, volunteer
to undertake a study of the fairness of the death penalty to determine if minorities and the poor in Maryland receive a disproportionate share of death sentences. But that was in 2003, and three years later he has still not produced a finished report.

Source: By Michael Sokolove, New York Times
, Mar 26, 2006

Use anti-terrorism tools on criminals in our neighborhoods

We need to bring the same tools and attention we use to fight international criminals, to our neighborhoods... so we can catch the criminals who terrorize us here at home.